28 Dec 23

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

8.0°C > 7.0°C: A cloudy start with a VERY heavy shower c.07:30. Then clear for a while. More and lighter showers later. Moderate south-westerly wind with some gusty spells. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:22 GMT
* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:45 – 09:10

(273rd visit of the year)

Many small branches and a few larger ones casualties of last night's wind.

Bird notes:
- c.500 Black-headed Gulls appeared over the water at 07:25. When the VERY heavy rain shower started many of these settled on the water though how many was difficult to judge from my position in the sailing club's shelter. Later c.90 were seen arriving, these quite possibly birds seen earlier that did not stay.
- No large gulls settled on the lake though I left somewhat earlier than usual to avoid getting caught by the next shower. Very few overhead.
- A Mistle Thrush was living up to its country name of Storm Cock by singing away from the top of a swaying tree as I arrived at 06:45.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 21 Canada Geese: 13 outbound in five groups; eight inbound in two groups
- 29 Greylag Goose: outbound in four groups
- 11 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 44 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 1 Redwing
- 3 Siskins

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake.

None

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 50 (33♂) Tufted Duck
- 11 Moorhens
- 93 Coots
- c.500 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Cormorant: a single, then a trio and then a duo arrived
- *1 Grey Heron

The (semi) nocturnal community on or around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Not much after a wet and very windy night. A rare sight in these days of LEDs one of the street lights was out. Thankfully it was one of the lamps without much adjacent vegetation and it would have had little impact on the things seen.

Moths:
- 1 male Mottled Umber (Erranis defoliaria)

Flies:
- *1 fly, possibly Tephrochlamys rufiventris

Other insects:
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis
- *1 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris
- *several globular springtails, perhaps Dicyrtomina ornata

Found in the sailing club shelter also pre-dawn:

Fly:
- *1 Phaonia sp., possibly P. tuguriorum

Spiders
- several Bridge Orb-web Spiders Larinioides sclopetarius
- 1 Orb-web spider Metellina sp.
- *1 spider Neriene montana
- *1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- *1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [also called Silver-sided Sector Spider]

On the Teece Drive fence:

Nothing noted

When the rain stopped the Cold Moon appeared now just two days after it was full. Some craters appearing in the more cross-lit areas.

This view belies the downpours at 07:30 and again after 10:00.

We can't let The Flash have all the Grey Heron photos.

A Song Thrush seems to have a spider for breakfast. A thought: all spiders have some type of venom to kill their prey. How come birds are not affected when they eat spiders? The internet knows of course: "Birds tend to know which spiders to eat but sometimes eat venomous spiders, which aren't harmful to the birds. This is because venom essentially needs to be injected into the bloodstream to harm you, and eating it will not cause any harm."

Nothing much on the street lamp poles this morning. Obsidentify suggested this fly was from the genus Tephrochlamys. Searches on the internet indicated T. rufiventris was the most likely as it is a species that over-winters as an adult.

Two springtails: the lower likely Pogonognathellus longicornis; the upper, with shorter antennae, perhaps Tomocerus vulgaris.

This tiny creature was about half the size of the springtails. I have drawn a blank.

This individual is from a different family of springtails and smaller again. Most likely from the Dicyrtomina group and possible D. ornata

With rain pounding down I took advantage of the sailing club shelter and photographed some if the resident spiders. This spider is Neriene montana. With palps like boxing gloves clearly a male.

A Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

This is a Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata which Obsidentify calls the Silver-sided Sector Spider.

Typically I find c.20 different spiders and very little else. What do they eat? Well this fly perhaps, an unusual find. It is one of the Phaonia group. Not a very good photo as it was under the roof and difficult to get at. It is possibly P. tuguriorum.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:10

(255th visit of the year)

A brisk walk around more or less successfully avoiding the next shower.

Bird notes:
- Many of the Tufted Ducks were flying around and otherwise changing location. The total below is the minimum: its possible there were as many as 98 (54♂).

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Noted on / around the water:
- 3 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 3 (2♂) Gadwall
- 35 (23♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 5 (3♂) Pochard
- 66 (40♂) Tufted Duck: at least – see notes
- *3 (0♂) Goosander
- 19 Moorhens
- 42 Coots
- *2 Great Crested Grebes
- 24 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls: one first winter; one third winter
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Grey Heron
- *2 Cormorants

On the ivy bank:

Nothing noted

The white feral goose today was the one of the sometime trio of similar species that has no black areas on its plumage.

Two of the duck Goosanders swimming away from the camera – as they always seem to be.

A Great Crested Grebe attempting to look coy.

A Cormorant with well-developed white plumes on its head.

This Cormorant has less-developed head plumes.

I do not often see Collared Doves on the ground for a photo.

An unusually bold Song Thrush just stood and looked at me.

Still no snow to make a Christmas Robin photo.

For a change a Mrs. House Sparrow.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day can be found via the yearly links in the right-hand column.

Sightings from previous years without links are below

2013
Priorslee Lake
7 Gadwall
10 Pochard
64 Tufted Ducks
1 Scaup
1 Goosander
218 Coots
28 Redwings
386 Jackdaws
209 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 drake Scaup
4 Gadwall
19 Pochard
1 Peregrine
(John Isherwood)

Priorslee Flash
4 Goosander
1 Pochard
(John Isherwood)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
1 Caspian Gull
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
15+ Great Black-backed Gulls
(Dawn Balmer & Pete Wilson)

Horsehay Pool
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Kriss Webb)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1 Caspian Gull
9 Yellow-legged Gulls
(Dawn Balmer/Peter Wilson/David Fairhurst)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black necked Grebe
4 Gadwall
1 Water Rail
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
1 Peregrine
2 Wigeon
(John Isherwood)

Trench Pool
1 Yellow-legged Gull
1 Great Black-backed Gull
1 Gadwall
(John Isherwood)

2007
The Flash
11 Goosander
(Martin Adlam)

Priorslee Village
9 Siskins
7 Redwing
(Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee lake
1 Great Crested Grebe
1 Pochard
15 Tufted Ducks
13 Lapwings
c.100 Black-headed Gulls
c.1100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
26 Herring Gulls
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
12 Pied Wagtails
6 Redwing
1 Fieldfare
160 Jackdaws
97 Rooks
20 Chaffinches
5 Reed Buntings
(Martin Adlam)

2005
Priorslee lake
30 Pochard 30
32 Tufted Duck
6 Great Crested Grebe
200+ Coot
1 Water Rail
c.3000 Black-headed Gulls
c.2000 Lesser Black-backs
4 Herring Gulls
21 Pied Wagtails
247 Rooks
172 Jackdaw
5 Redwing
5 Fieldfare
46 Siskin
19 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)